


Connection

by Mierke



Category: Firefly
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-27
Updated: 2015-02-27
Packaged: 2018-03-15 12:36:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3447431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mierke/pseuds/Mierke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternate first meeting between Malcolm and Inara.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Connection

**Author's Note:**

> Written for February Bingo - "Meet & Greet: Anonymous hookup"

Inara prepared the tea ceremony, the familiar actions working as a cleansing of sorts. She wasn't nervous per se, but it had been a while since she had seen a client she hadn't handpicked herself. Of course, the commendation had been high, but it was always different when she hadn't talked to the person beforehand.

A knock came and Inara smoothed her dress one more time before opening the door. The man stepped inside, all swagger and arrogance, and Inara allowed herself a small moment to curse Nandi. This she thought was an appropriate choice, a good man? Soon after, though, she pushed those feelings down; no matter how the guy had arrived at her Place of Union, she would give him the respect and care everyone deserved.

"Will you sit?" she said, her voice smooth as silk, and the man stopped his curious perusing of her place and sat down in one of the chairs. Inara noticed he'd picked the chair with a view of the door, not turning his back to it. This was someone who was used to always keeping his guard up, and she saved that knowledge to the back of her mind. She would have to make him feel safe. 

"Would you like some tea?"

She didn't wait for his answer and started pouring the tea in the cups.

"Tea. Really?" the guy scoffed. "I thought this was supposed to be about sex."

Inwardly Inara flinched, but she didn't let it show. 

"It's about connection," she gently corrected. "The tea represents harmony. It will help relax your mind and body, and will open you up to new experiences."

"This isn't my first time to have sex," the man chuckled, still not touching his tea. 

"Have you ever been with a Companion before?" she asked.

"No!" the man said, as if it was a ridiculous thought.

"Then the experience is new, is it not?"

The man looked into her eyes for a moment as if he wanted to say something, and then finally took his tea. He shuddered when he had his first sip, and put the cup down again.

"I'm supposed to drink that drivel?"

With years of practice, Inara suppressed her sigh. Taking another sip of her own tea, she tried to think of a way to get this man to relax, to let his guard down, to let her in. It didn't have to be much, but there would be no chance of anything happening if he kept being this hostile, this defensive. 

"I could add some flavour, if you prefer," she replied, a smile on her face that she didn't particularly feel. "Or some shimmerwine, if you'd like."

He seemed taken aback by her offer, and allowed her to pour in some of the wine. For a moment they sat in silence, a silence that felt surprisingly comfortable. 

"For Nandi," he said, and she raised her cup in answered salute. 

Inara put down her own cup of tea, and stood up from her chair. Holding her hand out to the man, she waited for him to take it. He seemed uncomfortable around her, and not just because of the tea. His remark about never having been with a Companion before had spoken of some disregard to her profession, and again she wondered why Nandi had thought it a good idea to send him.

As he took it and got up, his arm around her to pull her close, his touch seemed to short-circuit her thoughts for a moment. It happened, every once in a while, that she got a client whose body seemed to call out to hers. And as she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his, she wondered whether maybe this was what Nandi had meant. Maybe Inara wasn't the gift this time; maybe he was.


End file.
